joelilton23

My Vette rotors are brown before I get the car dry.  I just go forward and back in my driveway a few times to remove it and it's fine after that.  And then I detail the wheels.

Aftyer a cold night here in Queensland - the dew created these tiny beads all over the car. Adam's doing what it does best!

Aftyer a cold night here in Queensland - the dew created these tiny beads all over the car. Adam's doing what it does best!

Option B for sure! (as long as they clear the brakes) 
 
Also, if you need any Holden parts sent over, let me know - I worked at Holden as a technician for 9 years and have a great relationship with the parts department still - happy to track down certain rarer parts too! (HSV and Holden Special Option parts were our dealerships specialty)
 
Feel free to PM me if you need anything 

look after her Dan, the last of the Aussie made monster right there 

Option B for sure! (as long as they clear the brakes) 
 
Also, if you need any Holden parts sent over, let me know - I worked at Holden as a technician for 9 years and have a great relationship with the parts department still - happy to track down certain rarer parts too! (HSV and Holden Special Option parts were our dealerships specialty)
 
Feel free to PM me if you need anything 

Truth be told, I want to do black chrome or gunmetal on either set, similar to the color on my GTO wheels, but they aren't available in those finishes from the manufacturer.
 
I hear you on the black hole look Rich, but I actually love the gloss black wheel option on the newest z06's...when they're clean they look amazing...drool.
 
Oh...and my sig pic is my GTO, not the SS in the first post of this thread. I have two blue Holdens  The GTO has been paid off since 2011 and I'll never sell it!

Hey everyone,
 
So um, the factory Bridgestones on my SS are wearing quite fast after 9,000 miles of 'fun' driving, and the fronts are needing replaced soon. The rears surprisingly still have a fair amount of tread, 19x8.5 front with 245's and 19x9 rear with 275's from the factory. 
 
Since I will be taking the car on a long road journey in July with Rally North America, and I want to personalize the car a bit more, I'm looking at some 20x9 wheel options. This way I can run a wider 275/30/20 up front to match the rears, giving better turn-in response (taking the car on a few track events during the road rally), as well as now having the ability to rotate tires front to rear!
 
I found two wheel options that are quite affordable in 20x9, with just about a perfect offset to let them sit out a little further for a wider track, but still tuck under the wheel well lips and have no issues.
 
My car as it sits currently:
 

 
Option A - 5th Gen Camaro SS replica wheels in matte black:
 

 
Option B - 5th Gen Camaro Z28 replicas in matte black:
 

 
Which option do you guys and gals like more?
 
I thought about getting much more expensive aftermarket wheels, but these are affordable and will still give a somewhat factory look while being different enough that the car will stand out in the rare event that there's ever another Chevy SS sedan at any car show I go to  Factory Chevy center caps will fit in each wheel too and will be going on either wheel I decide to go with.
 
I'm also going to be replacing ALL of the chrome trim pieces on the car later this week with with the OEM Holden black metallic trim pieces once they show up. I think either set of black wheels will flow nicely, but I may end up powder coating them in a gunmetal gray finish since both wheel options are well within my budget and leave me with a little leftover money saved up to powder coat if necessary. Discount tire direct is also running a nice sale right now for $100 rebate on 4 wheels and $75 rebate on 4 tires, so I save money that way too
 
I do like both options a lot, but I'm favoring one more than the other, so I'm curious to hear what anyone else thinks. Thanks for looking. -DT

Thanks for reminding me Joel!  I keep one in the rear door bottle slot, wrapped around a bottle of Waterless Wash, for 'on the go' cleaning needs.

Exhaust tips
 

Thanks mate and thanks to all. They seem like too good a product just to sit on the shelf.

They're very versatile, mate. Dont be scared to try the waterless wash when your car is mildly dirty. My vinyl stripes on my Stang get dirty quicker than the rest of the car and I often spray them down with waterless and wipe them clean. No issues with scratching, as long as you follow the general rule of thumb....... wipe in one direction, lightly and let the towel do the work

Hi folks
 
So I have two packets of the waterless wash towels that I received in two Australian mystery boxes. Great towels but I am wondering what other uses besides the waterless wash process that these would be good for as I am very much in the two bucket wash camp.

It's been raining here for the last couple of days, Applied a new coat of LPS on the daily after a good clay and topped with buttery wax. Great beading and the water just rolls off when I start driving - the car was dry when I got to work 

Don't buy mystery boxes or buckets if you're going to complain about what you get.    

If you use the aerosol just be careful about spraying it inside the car.  It isn't gonna hurt anything really but it'll get everywhere... like sand on Tatooine.  

A few things come to mind for small business ownership.  A couple of which I still struggle to do myself.  These don't necessarily apply to the process of detailing, but business related.  So my apologies for the sidetrack.
 
1. Don't include services the client didn't pay for.  Your pricing is based on a model of how long it will take you to complete the work and priced accordingly.  If you start to add services they didn't pay for two things happen.  First, your profit gets sucked away.  Second, you train your customer that they don't have to pay for all of the services.
 
2. While I'm a huge fan of Adam's, there are a couple of other suppliers that I utilize for various things.  I owe it to myself and my business to make smart purchasing decisions.  If I can use a similar product for less money, it allows me to make more money without having to impact the client (either in price or quality).  That being said, I enjoy my relationship with Adam's and tend to look there first.  I tend to price things out by volume when making buying decisions.  For example, an 8 ounce bottle of polish versus a 32 ounce (or even gallon) elsewhere.  If the savings is significant and it doesn't affect quality, guess which one I choose?
 
3. Know that some jobs you just aren't going to make all the money you planned on.  You'll estimate a three hour job and it'll take four.  You can't go back to the client and upcharge at that point.  You simply absorb the difference and move on.  There's going to be a job that comes along that you will plan four hours for and get done in three.  That will balance it out.
 
4. Consider getting a partner/employee.  I have one guy I work with who does amazing work.  He's far better at interiors than I'll ever be and the two of us can work quickly and efficiently together.  At the same time, his availability helps to make our scheduling easier.  He's capable of tackling a vehicle by himself.  Some jobs you'll get simply due to availability. 
 
5. Constantly evaluate how your business is doing.  Are you charging enough?  Can you make smarter purchasing decisions?  Can you become more efficient?  We will travel, but primarily work out of my garage.  I invested in a mid rise lift to make it more comfortable for us to work and to make "wheels off" jobs more efficient.  It was a decent investment that I plan to recover over time through business and personal use.  The biggest thing we've noticed is we find more spots that are easier for us to give attention to and we aren't so bent over so our backs don't hurt.  Big up front cost, but will pay off in multiples over time.
 
6. Know that there's going to be a curve to getting the work coming in.  My business is relatively new as well, but it's picking up slowly.  The more work we do, the more referrals we get inquiries from.  Not all inquiries will turn into business.  In fact, most won't.
 
7. Value your own work.  Don't cave into the "X will do it for this much" argument.  That customer is just that...a customer and not a client.  Explain why your work is valued where it is and let them decide.  If price is their driving factor, they may not be the customer you want.  If you don't value your own work, why should the customer?
 
8. Know that there's going to be a learning curve for you.  Not just in terms of the processes you use, but the business end of things.  You'll spend time calling or emailing hoping to obtain better pricing from vendors.  Don't underestimate this process.  You need to do it in order to maximize margins.  Write everything down.  Quotes.  Agreements with vendors.  Everything.  It's great having notes to refer back to. 
 
9. Most of all, enjoy the experience.  Small business ownership isn't the source of my household income.  It does provide a unique challenge though that I've enjoyed along the way.  Understand you'll make mistakes.  Learn from them without dwelling on them and look ahead. 
 
Best of luck!

Hi Jen, do you really want to know? I'll tell you. I use to have a neighbor she was a bit older but non the less she and her son should have know better. Everyday I would come home to doggy poopies in my yard, mind you I don't have a dog and I try to keep a clean place and not a eye sore. So every day this poopies would appear mysteriously. Finally I had to some investigative work and narrow down the hours that the poopies would appear. One day I came home around 11:30 am and dcide to leave my car on the next block and have lunch gazing at my very green lawn. When all of the sudden my neighbors son came home to his mothers house to walk her dog for lunch. In the house he went and grabbed the dog immediately for his lunch time walk. He walked the dog directly across the street into my yard and let the dog cut loose, just like my women j/k lol. As soon as the dog was done with his number two action, off the two love birds went. I walked outside to see where my neighbors son went and they were already half way down the block.
 
Pressure Building Up, I did some quick thinking, how dare this bastard do this and think it's ok. I wouldn't do this to anyone nor would I like it done to my house. So i did some quick thinking and let it go. So the next day I did the same thing I came home for lunch and did the same thing kept an eye out for my poor lawn. Soon I witnessed round two and I couldn't believe my eyes because I really was hoping he wasn't the culprit.
 
The Pay Back, as he walked away he knew what he was doing, I decide to teach him a lesson. He drove a older Toyota truck the had the sealed door handles. You can only imagine what happened next. I put on some gloves picked up hos warm dookies and had a stuffing party on both door handles. I went back to my side of the street no opened my garage pulled out a lawn chair and waited. As so as I saw the son come back I yelled out hey neighbor and waived. I guess in their culture they aren't friendly and keep to them selves. Even though he didn't live there he was doing his mom a favor walking the dog for lunch. He walked back into the house put the dog away and comes right out which seemed like for ever. He reached for that door handle and almost immediately felt something, then the sniff sniff went to work lol, you could sense the tension he ran back to the house. Lol
 
Moral of the story, you want a dog, pick up after it, because you know better, let's just say I never had that problem again!
 
 

A flat ( thin ovular shape )wheel woolie for getting in between the barrel and Brembo calipers 

Looks amazing! The Yellow suits the shape so much 

Hey Joseph - I love the G&G, but I have a small car, so I don't use all that much, I still have 3/4 of the bottle I bought just after Christmas! It's one of my favourite products, and I wish I used more of it to keep my car looking great   I am picking up another car on the weekend, and it will be getting the paint sealant and G&G treatment, as long as the weather holds out! It does have a lot of black trim though (bumpers etc) so it could be a candidate for coating...
 
That was my thinking as well - I know wheel trims are often forgotten, but I clean mine every wash, and would love to keep them even a little bit protected.
 
 
That's great to hear! I might give it a go on my weekly wash this weekend and see how it goes! Thanks for the feedback
 
This forum is the best! 

Always good to know! I have a spare bottle of Paint Sealant here (2 bottles total, MB keep me stocked up  ) but will be grabbing a new formula bottle when they are available!

It's on its way. Damn carrier pigeons!
 
There is always a delay from US release to AU due to shipping times and popularity of some items. We're onto it along with out of stock items and some new product releases.

So bath day has occurred for the pony car. A bigger job than I anticipated. I had asked the dealership not to detail the car and true to their word they didn't. Because this was bath number one I was pretty conservative. So I snow foamed the car using the Adams car shampoo - did a great job and I did that twice. Followed by a two bucket wash - twice. The car was very very dirty and the rinse water was an ugly shade of grey by the end of the wash cycle. The lesson here is that the two bucket method works as does the grit guard system. I love the Adams wash mits.
 
Then followed drying and the start of the claying....which went most of the rest of day one. Exterior detailer is your (my) friend here. Again did a great job lubricating and there was enough rail dust and contaminant pulled out of the paint to kill two clay bars. But again this could be more to do with my technique. The other annoying contaminant was the plastic sealant film that was used to transport from the USA (Michigan) to Canberra Australia. It was applied everywhere and in some spots was very challenging to remove.
 
Day two was the sealing and waxing. Paint sealant and buttery wax are my friends. I did this by hand this first time with the handy Adam's colour coded hex grip pads - very nice indeed to use. I thought about using my polisher but I wasn't that brave the first time out.   
 
So a learnt that Adam's products work (love the wheel cleaner by the way), the video tutorials are great for newbies like me and I also learnt don't have enough micro fibre towels (seriously went through about 20...) and that patients is key.
 
Cheers
 
Paul 

We hear you and we're working on it. The supply is limited and we are looking to ramp up stockpiles in the coming months. Thank you for your passion and patience as we work close with HQ to find a solution